Born February 17, 1963 in Carmichael, Saskatchewan, he moved to Regina in 1983. Before Yates was elected the MLA for Regina Dewdney he was employed by the Saskatchewan provincial government as a social worker and corrections worker for 15 years. He was the chief negotiator for the public service bargaining unit of SGEU for six years.

Yates was first elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature in a 1999 by-election for Regina Dewdney. He was re-elected in 2003.